Service bracket



March 8, 1955 w. M. SHUTER 2,703,68

SERVICE BRACKET Filed June 23, 1954 United States Patent '0 SERVICE BRACKET William M. Shuter, Chicago, Ill. Application June 23; 1954, Serial No. 438,649

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-72) This invention relates to improved apparatus for securing an incoming line to a-Isloping roof surface or the like and more particularly to a device known as a service bracket which is adapted; to secure incoming power or telephone lines in a generally fixed relationship with respect to a building.

It is one particular object of this invention to provide a service bracket especially adapted for single story structures in which the incoming lines must be maintained above a minimum safe level.

In modern residential buildings the trend is toward low single story ranch-style dwellings, generally having a sloping roof structure. The various telephone and power companies have found it diflicult to adequately secure the incoming lines to such buildings while still maintaining the lines at a sufiicient height to avoid con tact therewith by persons in the building vicinity. It is generally required that the incoming lines be attached to the building at a height of approximately ten feet above the ground and this in many cases is substantially above the height of the building walls. One common expedient which has been employed to avoid this difliculty is the erection of an upright post or pole secured to the building wall and extending upwardly through the caves and roof to a distance of three or four feet above the roof line where the incoming service wires may be attached in conformance with the building regulations. However, such a post construction is costly to install and requires special modification of the roof and eave design. Fur thermore, the post tends to rot and deteriorate over a period of time and is generally unsightly. Various other methods of service line attachment have been proposed, but all have certain objectionable characteristics. For example a superficial attachment of the incoming lines to an externally excessible portion of the roof has been proposed, but this provides an insecure fastening subject to the elements and consequent rapid deterioration.

Therefore, it is a further object of this invention to provide a simple direct attachment for securing service lines directly to low building structures.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a bracket for securing service lines to sloping roof surfaces.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a bracket for service lines which does not detract from the appearance of the building and is not subject to deterioration when in use.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a service line bracket which is capable of secure attachment to an associated building and not attached merely to the superficial portions of said building.

Further and additional objects will become manifest from a consideration of this specification, the accompanying drawin s and the appended claims.

In one form of this invention a bracket is provlded having a. base portion with four rectilinearly disposed apertures therein and a clamp plate similarly apertured whereby said base and clamp plate may be disposed on npposite sides of a structural roof element and secured thereto by a plurality of securing means such as carriage bolts and associated nuts passed throu h the aligned apertures and spanning said structural roof element.

For a more complete understanding of this invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawin s wherein:

Fig. l is a partial perspective view of a roof with a service line connected thereto by a bracket constructed in accordance with this invention;

2,703,688 Patented Mar. 8, 1955 Fig. 2 is a partial plan view of the roof, line and bracket of Fig. 1 with certain portions of the roof removed;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the embodiment of F1g. 2 taken along the line 3-3 thereof;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view of the embodiment of Fig. 2 taken along the line 4-4 in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an exploded view of the illustrated embodiment of this invention showing the various elements in spaced relationship.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to Fig. 1 a sloping roof 10 is partially illustrated with a bracket 12, constructed in accordance with this invention, attached thereto. An incoming messenger wire 14 is shown looped through an appropriate aperture 16 in the bracket 12, folded back upon itself and secured in place by clamps 18. The roof 10 is covered with a plurality of shingles 20 and, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1, the bracket 12 is disposed under one particular shingle 20a and thus is protected from exposure to the elements. The invention may be advantageously employed with any roof construction using a lapped or overlying roofing material. Furthermore the water-tight integrity of the roof will be maintained as all of the necessary apertures and mountings for the bracket are disposed under the shingle 20a.

Portions of the roof 10 have been removed in Fig. 2 and the manner in which the bracket 12 is attached can be seen clearly. The bracket 12 is composed of a flat base web member 22 and an angularly disposed line reciving web 24. The base member 22 has four apertures 23 formed therein, said apertures being so positioned that four carriage bolts 26 may be passed therethrough to straddle a rafter 28 or a similar roof supporting member. As shown, the apertures 23 are square to receive the square shank portions of the carriage bolts and prevent rotation thereof. A clamping plate 30 has a plurality of apertures 31 therein which align with the corresponding apertures in the base 22 and therefore receive the carriage bolts 26 therethrough. Nuts 32 are secured on the underside of the clamping plate 30 and threadably engage carriage bolts 26 to draw the plate 30 to base 22, rigidly clamping the rafter 28 therebetween. This may be most clearly seen from a consideration of Fig. 4. By providing the four spaced carriage bolts 26 appropriately positioned to span a structural member 28 the necessity of placing lag screws or the like directly into the supporting member, or of drilling a hole directly through the supporting member is avoided. Thus, a device is provided that does not weaken the supporting structure and fur-' thermore is more rigidly and permanently attached thereto. As can be seen from a consideration of Fig. 3 a shingle 20a may be raised subsequent to the initial installation of the roof and the bracket 12 installed thereunder, or the bracket may be installed before roofing is applied. Great freedom is provided in the placement of the bracket, although it is preferably placed so that it engages a single rafter 28. In some installations it may be found desirable to span both a transverse structural member and a longitudinal one and the carriage bolts 26 are so positioned that such a structure may be readily accommodated.

Having secured the messenger wire 14 to the roof at the required distance above the ground, it is then possible to providean approved drop line 42 from the wire along the vertical wall 34. As shown in Fig. 3 the eaves 36 and gutters 38 may extend outwardly a substantial distance from the wall 34 but this installation provides an approved means for dropping the vertical line over these extending portions of the roof to the standard vertical conduit 40. If a plurality of incoming lines must be maintained in spaced relationship two or more of the above described brackets may be mounted on adjacent rafters or may be mounted on a common rafter in vertical spaced relationship. In the alternative, a single bracket may be adapted to receive a plurality of lines.

While one particular embodiment of this invention is herein shown and described it will be clear that a mounting bracket is provided which is more sturdy and yet more attractive than any mounting means heretofore known. Though the construction and manner of attachment illustrated is the preferred form, the bracket may be advantageously employed to engage any member or surface.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully explain the character of my invention that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under varying conditions of service, while retaining certain features which may properly be said to constitute the essential items of novelty involved, which items are intended to be defined and secured to me by the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for securing a line to a sloping roof portion having an elongated roof supporting member thereunder comprising a base member engageable with the upper surface of said roof portion and having four rectangularly disposed spaced apertures therein, an angularly disposed apertured line receiving portion integrally formed with said base member, the angle therebetween being such that said line receiving portion will be generally horizontal when said base member is secured against said sloping roof, a planar member engageable with the lower surface of said roof supporting member and having four rectangularly disposed apertures therein corresponding to the apertures in said base member, and a plurality of securing members, each extending through corresponding apertures in said base member and in said planar member, said apertures being disposed in pairs and spaced apart to pass said securing members on each side of said roof supporting member to maintain said line receiving portion in fixed spaced relationship relative thereto.

2. Apparatus for securing a line to a sloping roof portion having an elongated roof supporting member thereunder comprising an elongated base member having a base portion engageable with the upper surface of said roof 4 1 portion and having a plurality of apertures therein and an angularly disposed apertured line receiving portion integrally formed with said base portion, the angle between said base portion and said line receiving portion being such that said line receiving portion is generally horizontal when said base portion is secured against the upper surface of said sloping roof portion, said spaced apertures being disposed in substantial spaced relationship on each side of the longitudinal center line of said base member which passes through a line receiving aperture in said line receiving portion, said center line being substantially normal to the juncture of said base portion and said line receiving portion, a planar member engageable with the lower surface of said roof supporting member and having a plurality of apertures therein positioned in correspondence with the apertures in said base portion, and a plurality of securing members, each extending through a pair of corresponding apertures in said base portion and said planar member, said apertures being spaced apart to pass said securing members on each side of said roof supporting member to maintain said line receiving portion in fixed spaced relationship relative thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 285,164 Ryan Sept. 18, 1883 401,559 Hawthorne Apr. 16, 1889 808,989 Kingston Jan. 2, 1906 1,429,669 Zimmerman Sept. 19, 1922 2,336,144 Wickstrom Dec. 7, 1943 2,526,511 Smythe Oct. 17, 1950 2,575,254 Blaugrund Nov. 13, 1951 2,667,530 Trunnell Jan. 26, 1954 

